The Carnival is here!

This is the 35th edition of the Carnival of Evolution, and I'm very excited to be hosting it here at Lab Rat. I love blog carnivals, I think they're a great way to share work and read up on all the people writing about a topic you love. Each carnival tends to bring up interesting posts by 'regulars' as well as random newbees, all with something fascinating to say.

Whats I find really interesting about the science of evolution is that it brings together so many people from different fields of study. Understanding and studying the common origins of species, and their diversification requires skills that range across multiple different types of science, so in this carnival I am going to celebrate the multidisciplinary nature of the study of evolution.

Evolution isn't just about fieldwork, there's also an appreciable amount of systems modelling involved, which requires computer competency. BytesizeBio goes through the creation of the "Methinks it is like a weasel" program, in a special celebration of Shakespeare's birthday.

There's a bit of an overlap between these and the microbiologists, but we have one definitely medical post from Genome Engineering, as to whether there might be a genetic and evolutionary component driving an increase in premature births.

The Archaeologists and Anthropologists

I am never totally sure about the true difference between Arch and Anth, all I know is that they both get very annoyed if you mistake them for the other one. So in the interests of human unity I've put them together. The Mermaid's Tale brings us another great post exploring the concept (and the movie!) of Deep Time, and how deep time in human evolution can be portrayed. Evolving Thoughts brings us further updates on whether BRIAN BLESSED can (or even should) be considered a monkey or an ape. There's also some further discussion of the Piltdown man from Genome Engineering.

The Social and Political Scientists

Evolution has never been just a matter for research scientists. Whether this is a good or bad matter is up for debate, but it cannot be ignored that there is a political dimension to the applications and even the teaching of evolution. At Political Descent there's a post on the teaching of evolution in classrooms - some of the historical reasons held by both camps might surprise you. Evolving Thoughts looks at the recent attitudes held by the pope, and attacks the belief that evolution is a "random" process. Finally, there's a lovely lyrical piece by e.m. cadwaladr with thoughts on seeing the statue of Martha, the last passenger pigeon in the USA.

That brings us to the end of this carnival edition. The next one will be the same time next month;go here to submit your posts and see how many more scientific fields we can cover in the study of evolution.